Chinese Grammar Flashcards
position of direct and indirect objects
tā gěi wǒ yī běn shū
她给我一本书。
position of prepositional phrases
always occurs right before verb
position of prepositional phrases: He eats dinner with his girlfriend.
tā gēn tā de nǔ péngyou chī wǎnfàn。
location phrase position
always occurs before verb phrase
I eat at home.
wǒ zài jiā chī fàn
我在家吃饭。
position of “time when” phrases
subject + time when + predicate (always at start of predicate)
I drink coffee every day with my friend.
wǒ měitiān gēn wǒ de péngyou hē kāfēi。
我每天跟我的朋友喝咖啡。
If “time when” is emphasized or contrasted with another time…
…may occur before the subject.
order of “time when” with location phrases
subject + time when + location + verb phrase
I eat at home every day.
wǒ měitiān zài jiā chīfàn。
我每天在家吃饭。
position of adverbs
occur at the beginning of the predicate, before the verb and any prepositional phrase
Last month I only saw one movie.
wǒ shàng ge yuè zhǐ kàn le yí gè diànyǐng。
我上个月只看了一个电影。
position of negation
occurs before verb and any prepositional phrase, usually after an adverb
position of duration phrases
directly follow the verb
I lived in China for 3 years.
wǒ zài Zhōngguǒ zhù le sān nián。
我在中国住了三年。
order within the noun phrase
main noun in the noun phrase (the head noun) occurs as last word in the phrase. All modifying phrases come before head noun.
position of direct and indirect objects
subject + verb + indirect object + direct object
No one doesn’t like himself.
měiyǒu rén bù xǐhuan zìjǐ de。
没有人不喜欢自己的。
I hope they will get married, but I myself don’t plan to get married.
wǒ xīwàng tāmen jiéhūn， kěshì wǒ zìjǐ bù xiǎng jiéhūn。
我希望结婚，可是我自己不想结婚。
This is MY affair [not yours].
zhè shì wǒ zìjǐ de shì。
这是我自己的事。
poor me
kělián de wǒ。
可怜的我。
pretty her
měilì de tā。
美丽的她。
She said she is very busy today.
tā shuō tā jīntiān hěn máng。
她说她今天很忙。
I know he doesn’t have any money.
wǒ zhīdào tā méiyǒu qián。
我知道他没有钱。
I’d better go now. If I don’t go I will be late.
我děi zǒu le。Zài bù zǒu jiù wǎn lo。
我得走了。再不走就晚咯。
的
de – noun modification
得
de – postverbal adverbial modification
地
de – preverbal adverbial modification
着
zhe – duration
I wrote her a letter.
wǒ gěi tā xiě le yì fēng xìn。
我给她写了一封信。
I went to the library.
wǒ dào túshūguǎn qù
le。
我到图书馆去了。
That child has a bad temper.
Nàge háizi，píqi hěn huài。那个孩子，脾气很坏。
Mutton, I don’t particularly like to eat it.
yángròu，wǒ bú tài xǐhuan chī。
羊肉，我不太喜欢吃。
7,066
qī qiān líng liù shí liù
七千零六十六
9,102
jiǔ qiān yì bǎi líng èr
九千一百零二
25,250
liǎngwàn wǔ qiān èrbǎi wǔshí
2,225,250
liǎngbǎi èrshí’èr wàn
两百二十二万
522,225,250
wǔyì liǎngqiān èrbǎi èrshí’èr wàn
more or less
number + classifier (+ noun) + zuǒyòu
左右
“about,” almost
chàbuduō + number + classifier
差不多
number (+ classifier + noun) + “or more”
yǐshàng
以上
…“or fewer”
number (+ classifier + noun) + yǐxià
以下
within one year
yì nián yǐnèi
一年以内
more than 50 people
(number + duo + classifier)
wǔshì duō ge rén
五十多个人
I’ll come back in a day or two.
wǒ yī liǎng tiān jiù huí lai
我一两天就回来。
This thing sells for around three or four dollars.
zhège dōngxi mài sān sì kuài qián zuǒyòu
这个东西买三四块钱左右。
one third
sān fēn zhī
yī
三分之一
10%
bǎi fēn zhī shí
百分之十
1.1
一点一
0.35
líng diǎn sān wǔ
零点三五
3-1/2 cups (of water)
sān bēi bàn (shuǐ)
三杯半水
“fold” (twofold, threefold, etc.)
bèi
倍
Prices have all doubled.
jiàgé dōu zēngjiā le yī bèi le。
价格都增加了一倍了。
I have twice as many books as you.
wǒ de shū shì nǐ de shū de liǎng bèi。
我的书是你的书的两倍。
You give a discount?
dǎ zhé ma？
打折吗？
20% off, 80% of discounted price
bā zhé
八折
odd numbers
dānhào
单号
even numbers
shuānghào
双号
Please come to me.
qǐn g dào wǒ zhèr lái。
请到我这儿来。
one sheet of paper (also for table, photo, flat shapes)
yì zhāng zhǐ
一张纸
this pen
zhè zhī gāngbǐ
这枝钢笔
one house
yī suǒ fángzi
一所房子
classifier for animals
zhī
只
classifier for cars
liàng
辆
classifier for things with handles (one chair)
yī bǎ yǐzi
一把椅子
classifier for film
bù
部
yī bù diànyǐng
classifier for clothing items
jiàn
件
1/2 kilogram
jīn
斤
bowl
wǎn
碗
loaf
tiáo
条
slice/piece
kuài
块
bottle
píng
瓶
pot/vase
hú
壶
bouquet
shù
束
a car that I like
wǒ xǐhuan de chē
我喜欢的车
a written character
xiě de zì
写的字
the people who have come
lái de rén
来的人
the person who sells books
mài shū de rén
买书的人
a student who has come from Japan
cóng Rìběn lái de xuésheng
从日本来的学生
the things he likes
tā xǐhuan de dōngxi
他喜欢的东西
the movie that we saw
wǒmen kàn de diànyǐng
我们看的电影
whose book?
shéi de shū？
谁的书？
those two very smart exchange students who you introduced me to
[nǐ gěi wǒ jièshào de] [nà liǎng ge] [hěn cōngming de] liúxuéshēng
你给我介绍的那两个很聪明的留学生
3 years afterward, after 3 years
sān nián yǐhòu
三年以后
rarher
bǐjiào
比较
quite
xiāngdāng
相当
especially
tèbié
特别
yóuqí 尤其
extremely
jíqí
极其
more
gèng
更
to be terrific
hǎojíle 好极了
hǎo de bùdéliǎo 好的不得了
He is taller than you.
tā bǐ nǐ gāo
他比你高
He is even taller.
tā gèng gāo；tā hái （yào ）gāo
I am not as tall as you.
wǒ méiyǒu nǐ gāo。
我没有你高。
both… and…
yòu… yòu…
又。。。又。。。
Things are more and more expensive.
dōngxi yuè lái yuè guì
东西越来越贵。
more and more
yuè lái yuè
越来越
the more (action), the more (adjectival verb)
yuè。。。yuè。。。
越。。。越。。。
It was YESTERDAY that he came. He came YESTERDAY.
tā shì zuótiān lái de。
他是昨天来的。
It may rain tomorrow.
míngtiān huì xià yǔ。
明天会下雨。
néng
能
expresses physical ability or the unobstructed ability to perform some action
He can’t drink alcohol.
tā bù kěyǐ hē jiǔ。
他不可以喝酒。
must
bìxū，bìděi
必须，必得
not necessary
bù bì
不必
must not, not allowed
bù xǔ
不许
he attended class
tā shàng kè le
她上课了。
I didn’t buy a computer.
wǒ méi mǎi diànnǎo
我没买电脑。
He is speaking.
tā zài shuōzhe huà ne。
他在说着话呢。
to hang (clothing)
guà
挂
to become sick
bìng
病
to depart
líkāi
离开
I’ll come looking for you at 2:00, okay?
wǒ （zài） liǎng diǎn zhōng lái zhǎo nǐ，xíng ma？
我在两点钟来找你，行吗？
What did he say to you?
tā duì nǐ shuō le shénme huà？
他对你说了什么话？
He slowly walked out of the dorm.
de cóng tā mànman sùshè zǒuchūlái le。
他慢慢的从宿舍走出来了。
he’s thinking about going to the library to look for books.
tā xiǎng dào túshūguǎn qù zhǎo shū。
他想到图书馆去找书。
He went into the city.
tā jìn chéng qù 了。
他进城去了。
He wrote a letter on my behalf.
tā gěi wǒ xiě xìn le。
他给我写信了。
He borrowed a book from me.
tā xiàng wǒ jiè shū le。
他向我借书了。
She bought a book for me.
tā gěi wǒ mǎi shū le。
她给我买书了。
My wallet was stolen by someone.
wǒ de píbāo bèi rénjiā tōuzǒu le。
我的皮包被人家偷走了。
My book was lost by my friend.
wǒ de shū jiào péngyou nòngdiū le。
我的书叫朋友弄丢了。
She doesn’t like me at all.
tā bìng bù xǐhuan wǒ。
她并不喜欢我。
Perhaps she won’t go.
tā yéxǔ bù qù。
她也许不去。
He can speak Chinese and can also speak Japanese.
tā huì shuō Zhōngwén，hái huì shuō Rìwén。
他会说中文还会说日文。
After I read the newspaper I will go to sleep.
wǒ kàn le bào yǐhòu jiù shuì jiào。
我看了报以后就睡觉。
only
zhǐ
只
He only knows 5 characters.
tā cái rènshí wǔ ge zì。
他才认识五个字。
I only have five dollars (and that is all).
wǒ zhǐ yǒu wǔ kuài qián éryǐ。
我只有五块钱而已。
The relationship between him and me is not bad.
wǒ tóng tā de guānxi hěn bú cuò。
我同他的关系很不错。
or
或者
huózhě
3 terms for “by”
bèi 被，jiào 叫，ràng 让
My car was stolen by him.
wǒ de chē （bèi/jiào/ràng）tā tōuzǒu le。
我的车（被/叫/让）他偷走了。
That dictionary was borrower by Little Li.
Nà běn zìdiǎn （bèi/jiào/ràng）Xiǎo Lǐ gěi jièzǒu le。
那本字典（被/叫/让）小李给借走了。
That bad person was arrested.
nàge huàirén bèi/gěi zhuāzhù le。
那个坏人被/给抓住了。
He was fired by the school.
tā bèi xuéxiào chèzhí le。
他被学校撤职了。
He was fired
tā bèi chèzhí le。
他被撤职了。
The policeman didn’t tow your car away.
nǐ de chē méiyǒu bèi jǐngchá tuōzǒu。
你的车没有被警察拖走。
The trees here were all cut down by people.
zhèr de shù dōu bèi rén kǎn le。
这儿的树都被人砍了。
My friend was cheated.
wǒ péngyou bèi piàn le。
我朋友被骗了。
jiào
叫
passive marker, to call, to allow
ràng
让
passive marker, to let, to allow
gěi
给
passive marker, to give, on behalf of, for
The friend sent the fruit as a gift. (A friend took the fruit and sent it as a gift.)
péngyou bǎ shuíguǒ sònglai le。
朋友把水果送来了。
This book was written by my professor.
zhè běn shū shì wǒ jiàoshòu xiě de。
这本书是我教授写的。
I have heard so much about you.
jiǔ wén dà míng。
久闻大名。
I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.
tā bìng bù xǐhuan wǒ。
她并不喜欢我。
The feeling is mutual.
bícǐ，bícǐ。
彼此，彼此。
doctor
yīshēng，dàifu
一生，大夫
nurse
护士
hùshì
master, skilled person
shīfu
师傅
professor
jiàoshòu
教授
lawyer
lùshī
judge
fǎguān
法官
chairperson of political party
zhǔxí
主席
principal
xiàozhǎng
校长
police officer
jǐngchá
警察
receptionist
gōngguān
公关
secretary
mìshū
秘书
director of a dept.
zhǔrèn
主任
driver
sījī
司机
ambassador
dàshǐ
大使
president, chief of state
zǒngtǒng
总统
general manager
zǒngjīnglǐ
总经理
title for older man near your age
dà gē
大哥
title for older woman near your age
dà jiě
大姐
title for a man about your father’s age
shūshu
叔叔
title for woman near your mother’s age
āyí
阿姨
title for man grandfather’s age
yéye
爷爷
title for woman grandmother’s age
nǎinai
奶奶
young fellow
xiǎo huǒzi
小伙子
little friend
xiǎo péngyou
小朋友
scientist
kēxuéjiā
科学家
writer
zuòzhě
作者
artist
huàjiā
画家
musician
yīnyuèjiā
音乐家
reporter
jìzhě
记者
accountant
kuàijì
会计
farmer
nóngmín
农民
worker
gōngrén
工人
dentist
yáyī
牙医
fireman
jiùhuǒyuán
救火员
carpenter
mùjiang
木匠
plumber
shuǐgōng
水工
owner of a business
yèzhǔ
业主
accounting
kuàijì xué
会计学
anthropology
rénlèixué
人类学
art
rénwén kēxué
人文科学
Asian studies
yàzhōu xuéxì
亚洲学系
biology
shēngwù xué
生物学
chemistry
huàxué
化学
computer science
zīxùn
资讯
geography
dìlǐ xué
地理学
geology
dìzhì xué
地质学
economics
jīngjì xué
经济学
history
lìshǐ
历史
math
shùxué
数学
medicine (study of)
yīxué
医学
philosophy
zhé xué
哲学
physics
wùlǐ xué
物理学
political science
zhèngzhì xué
政治学
psychology
xīnlǐ xué
心里学
religious studies
zōngjiào xué
宗教学
sociology
shèhuì xué
社会学
theater
xìjù xué
戏剧学
linguistics
yǔyán xué
语言学
Going to class, I assume. (greeting)
shàng kè ba！
上课吧
Are you going home? (greeting)
huí jiā ne？
回家呢？
Going to work, right?
shàng bān ne
上班呢
What are you up to?
gànmá ne？
干吗呢？
What are you busy doing?
máng shénme ne？
忙什么呢？
Don’t hurry off.
màn zǒu。
慢走
Come again when you have time.
yǒu kòng zài lái。
有空再来。
Take care.
hǎo zǒu
好走。
Have a good trip.
yī lù shùn fēng。
一路顺风。
yīlùpíng’ān。
一路平安。
excuse me
máfan nǐ，láojià
麻烦你，劳驾
I’d like to inquire for a moment
(wǒ xiǎn g）dǎting yiíxià
我想打听一下
What do you want?
shénme shì？
什么事？
Is something the matter?
yǒu shì ma？
有事吗？
What’s the matter?
zěnme le？
怎么了？
Is it clear?
qīngchu ma？
清楚吗？
How is it pronounced?
zěnme niàn？
怎么念？
Signaling you are following the speaker.
shì，shì， ng，ng，duì，duì
fillers
nàme，ng，zhège
The issue we are going to discuss today is…
jīntiān yào tándào de wèntí shì。。。
今天要谈到的问题是。。。
in the first place…
shǒuxiān
Please look at…
qǐng kàn。。。
请看
afterwards (to describe sequence in past)
hòulái
后来
afterwards
ránhòu
然后
As for buying the plane tickets… (regarding + noun phrase)
guānyú mǎi fēijī piào de shì。。。
关于买飞机票的事。。。
in reference to
zhìyú
至于
even, go so far as to (noun or verb phrase)
shènzhì yú
甚至于
All the arrangements have been taken care of, even down to the place where you will live.
yìqié shǒuxù dōu bànhǎo le，shènzhìyú nǐ zhù de dìfang。
一切手续都办好了，甚至于你住的地方。
For example
bǐfang shuō。。。比方说
lìrú。。。例如
pìrú。。。譬如
In other words; to put it another way…
zǒng éryánzhī
总而言之
To sum up…
zǒngkuò láishuō
总括来说
Finally…
zuì hòu
最后
Please call me.
qǐng gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà。
请给我打电话。
receive a phone call
jiē diànhuà
接电话
No one is answering the phone.
méi rén jiē diànhuà。
没人接电话。
I sent you a text.
wǒ gěi nǐ fā le duǎnxìn。
我给你发了短信。
I received your text.
wǒ shōu le nǐ de duǎnxìn
我收了你的短信
send/receive a fax
fā/shōu chuánzhēn
发/收传真
send an email
fā diànzi xìn / sòng diànzi yóujiàn
发电子信 / 送电子邮件。
add/open an attachment
tiānjiā / dǎkāi fùjiā jiàn
添加附加件
enter a phone number
shūrù diànhuà hàomǎ
输入电话号码
Let’s be in touch by phone.
wǒmen tōng diànhuà。
我们通电话。
I’d like to leave a message.
wǒ yào liú yán。
我要留言。
I was unable to get through (by phone).
wǒ dǎbutōng。
我打不通。
The line is busy.
xiànzài zhàn xiàn。
现在占线。
to do well on the exam
kǎodehǎo
考得好
Have you finished reading that book?
nǐ kànwán le nà běn shū méiyǒu？
你看完了那本书没有？
Most adverbs occur… negation.
before
absolutely not
gēnběn + negation
I am absolutely not willing to live with him.
wǒ bìng bù yuànyi gēn tā yīqǐ zhù。
我并不愿意跟他一起住。
any
rènhé
任何
I didn’t tell anyone.
wǒ méi gàosu rènhé rén。
我没告诉任何人。
unable to finish eating
chībuwán
吃不完
to ask a question for which you know the answer:
bú shì + ma
不是+吗
Hasn’t he already graduated?
tā bú shì yǐjing bì yè le ma？
他不是已经毕业了吗？
at what place?
zài shénme dìfang？
On what grounds are you arresting me?
nǐ píng shénme dàibǔ wǒ？
你凭什么逮捕我？
You write this character this way.
zhège zì zhèyàng xiě。
这个字这样写。
There are a lot of people sitting on the bus.
gōnggòng qìchē shàng zuòzhe hěn duō rěn。
公共汽车上坐着很多人。
That table is made of wood.
nàge zhōzi shì yòng mùtou zuò de。
那个桌子是用木头昨的。
What is [noun] made of?
[noun] shì yòng shénme zuò de？
是用什么昨的？
cool (weather)
liángkuai
凉快
muggy, hot and humid
mēn rè
闷热
warm
nuǎnhuo
暖和
cloudy
duō yún
多云
mild (weather)
wēnhé
温和
windy
guā fēng
刮风
temperature
wēndù
温度
degree
dù
度
below zero
língxià
零下
Fahrenheit
huáshì
华氏
Celsius
shèshì
摄氏
I have a runny nose.
wǒ liú bíti
I have a cough.
wǒ késou
我késou
I have a high fever.
wǒ fā gāo shāo。
我发高烧
I am sneezing.
wǒ dǎ pēntì。
我打喷嚏.
I have a sore throat.
wǒ sǎngzi téng。
我嗓子疼。
I have an infection.
wǒ fāyán。
我发炎。
I have a stomach ache.
wǒ dùzi téng。
我肚子疼。
I have diarrhea.
wǒ lā xī。
我拉稀。
He has a broken bone.
tā gǔtou duàn le。
他骨头断了。
He drives a car slowly.
tā kāi chē kāi de màn。
他开车开的慢。
You all did well on the exam.
nǐmen kǎo shì dōu kǎo de hǎo。
你们考试考得好。
Hurry up and eat!
kuàikuāi de chī ba！
快快得吃吧！
resultative suffix “to finish”
wán
完
resultative suffix “to do to a successful conclusion”
好
resultative suffix “to perceive,” used with see, hear, smell, indicates result of an action
见，jiàn
resultative suffix, to attain a goal, to acquire
dào，到
resultative suffix, to attain a goal, to acquire
zháo
着
resultative suffix, to do wrong, to be mistaken
cuò
错
resultative suffix, to be full
抱
bǎo
resultative suffix, to understand
dǒng
懂
resultative suffix, to know
huì
会
resultative suffix, to stick
住
zhù
resultative suffix, to open
kāi
开
resultative suffix, enough
gòu
够
resultative suffix indicating result of an action: to use up
guāng
光
resultative suffix indicating the result of the action, to be clear
qīngchu
清楚
resultative suffix indicating the result of the action, to be clean
gānjìng
干净
